Second grand jury chosen in Enron case

Ex-employees worry panel will add to indictments

MARY FLOOD, Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle |
March 29, 2005

There's new blood in the Enron investigation, and it's making some unindicted former executives of Enron unhappy.

A second special Enron grand jury was seated in federal court last week and told it will be in session for 18 months. This gives Enron Task Force prosecutors plenty of time to continue investigations and to potentially indict more people.

"People were prepared to breathe a sigh of relief" when the old grand jury expired last week, one Enron defense attorney said. "Instead, it's back on alert because the Enron prosecutors have time on their hands to bully people."

Because the trial date for former Chairman Ken Lay's case was set far off in January 2006, several defense attorneys report their clients feel newly threatened by Enron prosecutors.

Lawyers report prosecutors have said that the long wait for the big trial leaves them with time to investigate avenues they might not have had time for before the five-year time limit to file charges expired.

"There would be no reason to impanel a new grand jury unless prosecutors will continue to investigate matters not under indictment," said Philip Hilder, a Houston defense attorney who represents multiple witnesses in the Enron cases. "With the big trial so far away, they can run out leads, and possibly indict others."

Enron Task Force Director Andrew Weissmann had no comment on the new grand jury. Prosecutors are barred from commenting on the such matters.

"I can't comment on the work of any grand jury. The work of the Enron Task Force is continuing," Weissmann said.

Enron prosecutors did tell U.S. District Judge Sim Lake on Friday that they may reindict Lay, ex-CEO Jeff Skilling and former top accountant Rick Causey sometime before September. But prosecutors promised not to add defendants or do anything that would stall the 2006 trial date. Skilling has asked that any new indictment be filed by early May.

Thursday apparently was the last official meeting of the first specially seated Enron grand jury. That panel heard from hundreds of witnesses and indicted 23 people over the last three years.

First named to the panel in March 27, 2002, they saw six of the people they indicted plead guilty, five convicted by a jury and one acquitted by the same jury. Eleven are yet to be tried. The membership of the first Enron grand jury changed somewhat over the three years. The new grand jury also had about two dozen people appointed, with multiple alternates named in case people were forced to drop out.

The first grand jury also was scheduled to meet 18 months but was renewed for a second 18 months as allowed by law. Having a grand jury set aside for Enron matters helps the Enron prosecutors in several ways.

First, the matter is complex, and having panel members with continuing knowledge makes the job easier.

Second, because there are so many people locally who may be connected to Enron or have strong opinions about Enron, the prosecutors wanted a grand jury panel that was screened for connections and biases. The regular sitting grand juries are not routinely asked about Enron.

Unlike some of the jurors who have served on high-profile cases and speak about it afterward, grand jurors are forbidden from talking about their work and could be charged with contempt of court and incarcerated if they do so.

Several defendants have unsuccessfully tried to pierce the veil of secrecy surrounding the panel that indicted their clients. The lawyers wanted to find out if there might have been people biased against Enron or their clients on the panel.